San Antonio city councilman Manny Pelaez from district 8 announced on Tuesday, Jan. 19, that he does not support the “Fix SAPD” petition. The petition seeks to abolish the SA Police Officers Association agreement with the City and undermine police employment and health benefits.
Abolishing the agreement would undermine the police's morale and make them vulnerable to instant dismissals, even for political reasons, without an appeal. Furthermore, if there is any group of public servants that needs good benefits, it’s the ones who put their lives on the line daily.
Councilman Pelaez said it goes against his values of supporting unions and the right for labor to organize. Ironically, the liberal/leftist Democrats who have always supported labor unions do not support the police unions. This shows that the liberal/leftist Democrats want to create social chaos by undermining law and order.
Punishing all police officers by stripping them of their right to organize is not the solution to abuse of power by a few problem officers. Condemning all police officers because of a few bad ones is no different than claiming all Blacks are criminals and drop-outs.
San Antonio must resist the “Fix SAPD” petition; otherwise, the citizens will find themselves in the same situation as other cities with high crime and understaffed police departments.
Pelaez said, “Cities without collectively bargained labor agreements also struggle with disturbing cases of police misconduct. Similarly, cities with underfunded police departments are also grappling with the cases."
San Antonio deserves a well-trained professional police department, and the facts show that the SAPOA-City bargaining agreements have helped to recruiting and retaining high-quality police officers.
The citizens and taxpayers of San Antonio should NOT sign or support the “Fix SAPD” petition.
https://www.ktsa.com/san-antonio-city-councilman-says-he-disagrees-with-fix-sapd-push/